The history of tea - Shunan Teng

Istorija čaja - Šunan Teng (Shunan Teng)

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Mile Živković

During a long day spent roaming the forest in search of edible grains and herbs,

Provodeći dug dan u lutanju šumom u potrazi za jestivim zrnevljem i biljkama,

the weary divine farmer Shennong accidentally poisoned himself 72 times.

umorni seoski vrač, po imenu Šenong, slučajno se otrovao 72 puta.

But before the poisons could end his life,

Ali pre nego što je otrov uspeo da ga dokrajči,

a leaf drifted into his mouth.

list mu je upao u usta.

He chewed on it and it revived him,

Sažvakao ga je i to ga je oživelo,

and that is how we discovered tea.

i tako smo otkrili čaj.

Or so an ancient legend goes at least.

Ili bar tako glasi drevna legenda.

Tea doesn't actually cure poisonings,

Čaj zapravo ne leči trovanja,

but the story of Shennong,

ali priča o Šenongu,

the mythical Chinese inventor of agriculture,

mitskom kineskom izumitelju zemljoradnje,

highlights tea's importance to ancient China.

naglašava važnost čaja u drevnoj Kini.

Archaeological evidence suggests tea was first cultivated there

Arheološki dokazi upućuju na to da je čaj prvo tamo kultivisan

as early as 6,000 years ago,

još pre 6000 godina,

or 1,500 years before the pharaohs built the Great Pyramids of Giza.

to jest 1500 godina pre nego što su faraoni sagradili Velike piramide u Gizi.

That original Chinese tea plant

Ta autohtona kineska biljka

is the same type that's grown around the world today,

je ista ona koju trenutno uzgajamo širom sveta,

yet it was originally consumed very differently.

međutim, prvobitno su je konzumirali veoma drugačije.

It was eaten as a vegetable or cooked with grain porridge.

Jeli su je kao povrće ili su je kuvali sa žitnom kašom.

Tea only shifted from food to drink 1,500 years ago

Čaj je tek pre 1500 godina prešao iz hrane u piće,

when people realized that a combination of heat and moisture

kada su ljudi shvatili da kombinacija toplote i vlage

could create a complex and varied taste out of the leafy green.

može da stvori složen i iznijansiran ukus od zelenog lišća.

After hundreds of years of variations to the preparation method,

Nakon stotina godina varijacije u metodu pripremanja čaja,

the standard became to heat tea,

standard je postao zagrevanje čaja,

pack it into portable cakes,

njegovo pakovanje u prenosive grudvice,

grind it into powder,

mlevenje u prah,

mix with hot water,

mešanje sa vrelom vodom

and create a beverage called muo cha, or matcha.

i pripremanje pića koje je nazivano "muo ča" ili "mača".

Matcha became so popular that a distinct Chinese tea culture emerged.

Mača je postala toliko popularna da je iznedrila naročitu kinesku kulturu čaja.

Tea was the subject of books and poetry,

Čaj je bio tema knjiga i pesama,

the favorite drink of emperors,

omiljeno piće careva

and a medium for artists.

i medijum za umetnike.

They would draw extravagant pictures in the foam of the tea,

Crtali su ekstravagantne slike u peni od čaja,

very much like the espresso art you might see in coffee shops today.

veoma nalik umetnosti u espreso kafi koju danas možete videti u kafićima.

In the 9th century during the Tang Dynasty,

U devetom veku, za vreme dinastije Tang,

a Japanese monk brought the first tea plant to Japan.

japanski sveštenik je doneo prvu biljku čaja u Japan.

The Japanese eventually developed their own unique rituals around tea,

Japanci su vremenom razvili sopstvene originalne rituale za čaj,

leading to the creation of the Japanese tea ceremony.

dovodeći do nastanka japanske ceremonijalne čajanke.

And in the 14th century during the Ming Dynasty,

A u XIV veku, tokom dinastije Ming,

the Chinese emperor shifted the standard

kineski car je izmenio standard

from tea pressed into cakes to loose leaf tea.

od čaja presovanog u grudvice do čaja od gotovog lišća.

At that point, China still held a virtual monopoly on the world's tea trees,

U tom trenutku je Kina i dalje praktično držala monopol na drveće čaja u svetu,

making tea one of three essential Chinese export goods,

zbog čega je čaj bio jedan od tri suštinska kineska izvozna proizvoda,

along with porcelain and silk.

zajedno sa porcelanom i svilom.

This gave China a great deal of power and economic influence

Ovo je Kini obezbedilo veliku moć i ekonomski značaj

as tea drinking spread around the world.

kako se ispijanje čaja širilo svetom.

That spread began in earnest around the early 1600s

Najozbiljnije širenje je počelo oko ranih 1600-ih

when Dutch traders brought tea to Europe in large quantities.

kada su holandski trgovci doneli velike količine čaja u Evropu.

Many credit Queen Catherine of Braganza, a Portuguese noble woman,

Kraljici Katarini od Bragance, portugalskoj plemkinji,

for making tea popular with the English aristocracy

mnogi pripisuju popularisanje čaja kod engleske aristokratije,

when she married King Charles II in 1661.

kada se 1661. udala za kralja Čarlsa II.

At the time, Great Britain was in the midst of expanding its colonial influence

U to vreme je Velika Britanija bila u sred širenja svog kolonijalnog uticaja

and becoming the new dominant world power.

i postajala je nova vodeća svetska sila.

And as Great Britain grew, interest in tea spread around the world.

A kako je Velika Britanija rasla, zainteresovanost za čaj se širila svetom.

By 1700, tea in Europe sold for ten times the price of coffee

Do 1700, čaj u Evropi se prodavao deset puta skuplje od kafe,

and the plant was still only grown in China.

a biljka je i dalje jedino rasla u Kini.

The tea trade was so lucrative

Trgovina čajem je bila toliko unosna

that the world's fastest sailboat, the clipper ship,

da je najbrži jedrenjak na svetu, brod kliper,

was born out of intense competition between Western trading companies.

nastao iz žestoke konkurencije među zapadnim trgovinskim firmama.

All were racing to bring their tea back to Europe first

Svi su se trkali da prvi donesu čaj u Evropu

to maximize their profits.

kako bi imali najveći profit.

At first, Britain paid for all this Chinese tea with silver.

Prvo je Britanija plaćala u srebru sav taj kineski čaj.

When that proved too expensive,

Kada se to ispostavilo preskupim,

they suggested trading tea for another substance, opium.

predložili su da plaćaju čaj drugom supstancom, opijumom.

This triggered a public health problem within China

Ovo je u Kini pokrenulo problem javnog zdravstva

as people became addicted to the drug.

jer su ljudi postali zavisni od ove droge.

Then in 1839, a Chinese official ordered his men

Potom je 1839. kineski zvaničnik naredio svojim ljudima

to destroy massive British shipments of opium

da unište ogromne britanske isporuke opijuma

as a statement against Britain's influence over China.

kao poruku protiv britanskog uticaja u Kini.

This act triggered the First Opium War between the two nations.

Ovaj čin je pokrenuo Prvi opijumski rat između dve nacije.

Fighting raged up and down the Chinese coast until 1842

Rat je besneo uzduž i popreko kineske obale do 1842.

when the defeated Qing Dynasty ceded the port of Hong Kong to the British

kada je poražena dinastija Ćing ustupila Britancima luku u Hong Kongu

and resumed trading on unfavorable terms.

i nastavili su trgovinu pod nepovoljnim uslovima.

The war weakened China's global standing for over a century.

Rat je oslabio kineski globalni status za više od jednog veka.

The British East India company also wanted to be able to grow tea themselves

Britanska firma Ist Indija je takođe želela da sami uzagajaju čaj

and further control the market.

i tako još više kontrolišu tržište.

So they commissioned botanist Robert Fortune

Te su zapovedili botaničaru Robertu Forčunu

to steal tea from China in a covert operation.

da u tajnoj operaciji ukrade čaj iz Kine.

He disguised himself and took a perilous journey

Prerušio se i krenuo na opasan put

through China's mountainous tea regions,

kroz kineske planinske oblasti čaja,

eventually smuggling tea trees and experienced tea workers

na kraju krijumčareći stabljike čaja i iskusne radnike na čaju

into Darjeeling, India.

u Dardželing u Indiji.

From there, the plant spread further still,

Otuda se biljka širila još dalje,

helping drive tea's rapid growth as an everyday commodity.

doprinoseći ubrzanom usponu čaja do svakidašnje robe.

Today, tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world after water,

Danas je čaj drugo najkonzumiranije piće na svetu, nakon vode

and from sugary Turkish Rize tea,

i od slatkastog turskog čaja rize

to salty Tibetan butter tea,

do slanog tibetanskog čaja sa maslacem,

there are almost as many ways of preparing the beverage

skoro da postoji jednak broj načina pripreme ovog pića

as there are cultures on the globe.

koliko ima i kultura na svetu.